Mortising tool



P 7 1932- H. T. PARKER 1,879,454

MORTISING TOOL Filed June 17, 1931 mum Patented Sept. 27, 1932 UNITED :srAT sfPATENT OFFICE HARRY 'r. PARKER, OF NEW BRITAIN; oNNECrICorQAssIGNon TOTHE STANLEY worms, on NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, VA ConronArIo or CONNECTICUT MORTISING roon Application filed June 17, 1931. Serial No; 544,963.

This invention relates to a device for use in cutting mortises or gains for door hinges or the like, and has particularreference to a gauge for use in outlining the mortise and for guiding a chisel during the operation of removing the wood from lined mortise. I I

The aim of the invention is to provide a device of this sort having variousfeatures of novelty and advantage, and which is particularly characterized by its" extreme sim plicit-y in construction and its effectiveness in use.

More particularly, an aim of the invention is to provide an improved mortise gauge and chisel guide which, while being-very simple in construction and therefore comparatively inexpensive in manufacture, is very strong and durable. The device comprises a relatively few number of parts each of which may be manufactured at low cost, and these parts may be quickly and readily assembled to form a practical, effective construction.

A further aim. of the invention is to provide a device of this sort which may be quickly and readily adjusted to suit hinge leaves of difierent sizes; whichmay be quickly'attached to the door or other member in which a mortise is to be out; which is securely held in its attached position duringthe cutting out of the material; and by means of which a workman of ordinary skilln'ia-y more accurately and readily cut the recess or mortise to the required size.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more in. detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly'consists in the features of construction, combination of elemerits and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

in the accompanying drawing, wherein is 7 shown one embodiment which the present invention may take, l

F1g. 1 is a top plan viewof my improved mortising tool; I I I Fig. 2 1s a front elevatlonal vlew thereof;

the previously outlooking at view taken about on body 10 in the form of a metal plate or strip having at one end a pair of forwardly bent lugs 11 with an intermediate ear 12, the latter being in the plane of the plate. This body also has, adjacent its other end, an elongated slot 13. The numeral 14 designates a depth plate disposed in a plane at right angles to thebody plate 10 and below the bottom edge of that plate. This depth plate constitutes, as hereinafter described more in detail, a guide for a wood chisel during the operation of cutting out the material within the defined mortise. V The depth plate is secured to the body plate by a pair of brackets 15 and 16 which may be similar in construction. Each of these brackets comprises a strip of metal bent into right angular shape. The short vertical leg of the left-hand bracket 15 is connected to the ear 12 by a screw 17 and the short vertical leg of the right-hand bracket 16 is connectedto the right-hand end of the body plate 10 by a screw 18. The openings 19, th'roughwhich the screws 17 and 18 extend, are'e'longated in a vertical direction so as to permit of vertical adjustment of the brackets, together withthe depth platecarriedthereby, in order to accommodate hinge leaves of various thicknesses. The depth plate is connected to the forward ends of the brackets 15 and 16 by screws 20 which extend through elongated slots 21 in order to permit of adjustment of the depth plate forwardly or rearwardly with respect to the body plate and in accordance with hinge leaves of various widths. The opposite ends of the depth plate are offset upwardly, as at 22, in order that the' -main' portion of this plate will be by the screws 20.

a level below the lower edge of the body. If desired, the forward ends of the brackets and 16 may be offset downwardly to obtain this result. V

For the purpose of holding the tool to the work while the hereinafter described cutters are being driven into the wood and while the wood chisel is cutting out the mortise, a pair of spur members are provided. Each spur member has a beveled and triangular shaped disposed at prong 26 disposed substantially in the plane Secured to the forwardly extending lugs 11 of the body is a cutter holder guide 30' from a piece-of which is preferably formed fiat metal, the side edges of which are bent overand; inwardly so as toprovide adovetailed groove. Mounted in this groove, for vertical sliding movement, is a cutter holder 31. The guide 30 may be connected to the lugs-11 in any suitable manner, as by means of rivets 32. Adj ustably secured to the body 10, in opposition to the guide 30, is a similar or right-hand guide 33 in which is mounted a cutter holder 34. The guide 33 is secured, as by means of rivets 35, to a right-angled bracket 37 the arm 38 of which has a pair of rearwardly bent tongues 39 adapted to engage in the slot 13 of the body plate 10. The height of these'lugs equals the width of theslot so that the lugs have a good sliding fit therein and thus hold the cutter holder 34 square with the workand parallel to the other cutter holder 31. The arm 38 of the bracket has a threaded aperture adapted to receive a screw 41 whereby the bracket, together with parts carried thereby, may be securely locked in adjusted position.

The holders 31 and 34 carry the respective cutters 45 and 46 which are identical in construction, except thatone is left-handed and the other is right-handed. 'Each cutter has its lower end beveled so as to provide a cutting edge 47. Also, the rear corners of these cutters are beveled, as at 48, so as to give a clearance space 49 between each cutter and a protective back plate 50 which forms a facing on the body'10. The back faces of the cutters are corrugated or serrated, as at 52, so as to increase the holding power ofthese cutter blades after they aredriven into the work, as hereinafter explained more in detail. The upper ends of the cutters are 10- catedin recesses in the opposed faces of the holders 31 and 34 and are secured in place in those recesses by screws 56. The heads of these screws engage in vertically extending slots 57 in the guides 30 and 33.

These screws thus have the twofold purpose a of securing the cutters to their holders and also controlling the length of stroke of the holders and cutters. The upper ends of the holders are provided with anvils 58 which may be struck when it is desired to drive the cutters into the work to define the end walls of the mortise.

The above referred-to protective back plate 50 comprises a strip or plate of material which is of less hardness than a wood chisel.

This plate may be made of vulcanized rubber, for instance. The protective plate engages against the front face of the body 10 and it is secured in place in a very simple, cheap,and effective manner. The left-hand end of the protective plate or facing has a rectangular projection 60 which fits nicely between the lugs 11 and behind the rear edge of the guide 30. Thus the lugs 11 hold the left-hand end of the protective plate against vertical movement, and the guide holds it against the front face of the body plate. The right-hand end of the protective plate has an elongated slot ornotch 61 of the same size as, and adapted to register with, the slot 13. The tongues 39 of the bracket 37 extend through this notch so as to hold the protective plate against vertical movement. The protective plate is clamped by the screw 41 between the arm 38 of the bracket and the body 7 plate 10.

The rear edge of the depth plate 14 is provided with a notch or recess 63 for accommodating the forward end of the left-hand cutter 45. This plate also has a series of spaced apart notches 64 for selectively'accommodating the forward end of the right-hand cutter 46. With this arrangement, the right-hand cutter may be adjusted in accordance with the lengths of different sizes of hinge leaves. The cars 65 between the notches 64 provide a good working surface for the chisel during the operation of removing the material within the defined mortise.

The manner in which my improved device is used is, briefly, as follows: The size of the hinge having been determined, the brackets 15 and 16 are vertically adjusted and then secured in adjusted position by the screws 17 and 18, so that the distance between the plane of the upper face of the depth plate and the lower edge of the body plate 10 is equal to the depth of the mortise to be cut; that is, the thickness of the hinge leaf. The depth plate. 14 is adjusted in its own plane and then secured in adjusted position by the screws 20 so that the distance between the rear edge of. the depth plate and the front face of the lining 50 is equal to the width of the mortise to be cut. The right-hand cutter this, the chisel is held at may then be adjusted relative to the lefthand one in accordance with the length of the desired mortise. Thismay be done by loosening the screw 41, adjusting the bracket 37 longitudinally of the slot 13, and then again tightening up the screw 41. The tool is then placed upon the work with the lower edges of the body plate andthe guides resting upon the surface to be mortised. The work is shown by broken lines in the drawing, and designatedby the letter D. The prongs 26are then driven into the work so as to bring the rear edge of the depth plate against the work. The cutters 4:5 and 46 are then driven into the work by striking the anvils 58, these cutters preferably being driven in to a depth greaterthan the desired depth of the mortise. For example, they may be driven in so that their cutting edges are about halfway through the front depth plate 14. The end walls of themortise are thus defined. Then a hand chisel is employed for defining the rear wall of the mortise. This is done by holding the chisel vertically against the lining 50 and driving the chisel in to the desired extent, the chisel being moved to successive positions along the lining. It will be observed from Fig. 1, wherein the hand chisel C is shown in cross section, that, due

= to the bevels 48 on the cutters, the chisel of the mortise can reach the very corners- The mortise now having been defined at its side and rear edges, is roughly cut out with successive cross grain skew cuts. In doing an angle, i. e., with one side edge resting on the chisel rest or depth plate 14. The mortise is finished by holding the chisel flat against the depth plate, as shown in Fig. 1. During the gouging-out of the wood by the chisel, and particularly during the preliminary stages of that operation, the cutting edgeof the chisel will probably strike the lining or back plate 50; however, as this back plate is made of a material softer than the chisel, the chisel edge will not be damaged when it strikes that back plate, a feature which is of considerable importance. During the gouging-out of the wood, and particularly when the mortise is almost complete, the tendency is for the rear or back of the tool to rise from the work. The cutters, however, will securely hold the tool in place, the holding power of the cutters being due to the fact that their back faces are serrated or corrugated, as at 52.

When the cutters are driven into the work, the ribs or serrations form. fine grooves in, and become interlocked with, the end walls of the mortise, and this assists in holding the tool against canting or rising.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, that, while my improved mortising device is extremely simple in conti. struction and arrangement, it is very strong and durable, and it is very convenient in use. An ordinary workman may very quickly and cleanly form a very nice mortise of the exact required dimensions. The space between the cutters is clear and unobstructed so that a workman can see what he is doing at all times.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invencific features of the invention herein deu scribed and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as

a matter of language,

7 might be said to fall therebetween.

W hat is claimed is:

1. In a mortising tool, a'body plate, a pair of right-angled brackets, means for connecting said brackets for vertical adjustment to the opposite ends of said body plate, a depth plate disposed'in a plane at right angles to the plane of said bodyplate, means for connecting said depth plate to said brackets for adjustment towards and away from said body plate and in the plane of said depth plate, a fixed cutter guide carried by said body plate, an opposed cutter by said body plate, said guides, holders.

2. In a mortising tool, a body plate, a depth plate disposed in a plane at right angles to said body plate and below the lower ec ge thereof, a fixed guide disposed at right angles to each of said plates and generally between the same, an adjustable guide opposed to said fixed guide, cutter holders mounted for slidmg movement in said guides, and cutters carried by said holders, the rear edge of said depth plate being provided with spaced apart notches for accommodating said adjustable cutter in its several adjusted positions.

3. In a mortising tool, a body plate, a depth plate adjustably connected to said body plate and disposed in a plane at right angles to and below the lower edge of said body plate, guides connected to said body plate and disposed at ri 'ht angles thereto, cutter holders mounted in said guides, and prongs generally parallel to said depth plate and extending rearwardly beyond the rear edge thereof, said prongs being adapted to be driven into the surface of the work against which the rear edge of said depth plate. engages.

4. In mortising tool, a vertical body plate, a horizontally disposed depth plate cutter holders carried by and cutters secured to said forwardly of and below the rear edge of said illustrative and not in a guide adjustably carried body plate and having a rear straight edge adapted to abut against the work in which the mortise is to be formed, a fixed vertical cutter guide carried by and disposed at right angles to said body plate, an opposed cutter guide adjustably connected to said body plate, cutter holders mounted in said guides, cutters adapted to define the end walls of the mortise, and a. pair of prong members at the opposite ends of said depth plate and having prongs disposed in the plane of said depth plate and extending from the rear edge thereof. 7

5. In a mortising tool, a frame adapted to rest upon the work, and cutters carried by the frame for reciprocating movement and adapted to define the end walls of the mortise, said cutters having their back surfaces roughened whereby the cutters, after they are driven into the work, have a more secure purchase.

6. In a mortising tool, a frame having members for guiding a hand chisel when defining the rear wall of the mortise and cuttingout the material from the defined mortise, and'cutters carried by said frame and adapted to be driven into the work todefine the end walls of the mortise, the back faces of said cutters having vertical serrations. 7. In a mortising tool, a frame adapted to rest upon the work and having a depth plate constituting a guide for a hand chisel during the operation of removing the material from the defined mortise, a pair of guides disposed at right angles to said depth plate, cutter holders mounted in said guides for reciprocating movement, and cutters carried by said holders and adapted when driven into the work to define the end walls of the mortise, said cutters having on their back faces serrations at right angles to the cutting edges of said cutters.

8. In a mortising tool, a frame adapted to rest upon that surface of the work in which the mortise is tobe formed and having a depth plate the rear edge of which is adapted to engage a surface of the work at right angles to said first mentioned surface, prongs parallel to and extending rearwardly from the rear edge of said depth plate and adapted to be driven in the second mentioned surface of the work, and cutters disposed in a plane at right angles to said depth plate and adapted to define tis'e, the back faces of said cutters being roughened.-

9. In a mortising tool, a body plate having an edge adapted to rest upon the surface of the work in which the mortise is to be formed, a depth plate at right angles to and forwardly of said body plate and adapted to constitute a guide'fora chisel during the operation of removing the material from the defined mortise, and a facing on the forward face of saidbackplate'of such nature as to the end walls of the morprevent damage to the cutting edge of a chisel when brought into engagement therewith.

10. In a mortising tool, a body plate, a depth plate at right angles to and disposed forwardly of and located beneath said body plate, said depth plate constituting a guide for a chisel or similar tool during the operation of removing the material from the defined mortise, and a removable protective plate against the front face of said body plate and of such material as toprevent damage tothe cutting edge of the chisel when brought into engagement therewith.

11. In a mortising tool, a body plate having at one end a pair of forwardly extending lugs and an interposed ear, the other end of said plate having a longitudinally extending slot, a cutter guide connected to said lugs, a protective back plate against the forward face of said body plate and having a lug positioned between said first mentioned lugs, a br cket having portions engaging in said slot, a cutter guide secured to said bracket, and means for securing said bracket to said body plate, said protective plate being interposed between said bracket and body plate. 12. In a mortising tool, a body plate havmg a longitudinally extending slot, at depth plate at right angles to l of cutter guides, c tterholders in said guides, anangled bracket haying a pair of tongues slidably fitted in said slot, and a screw for securing said bracket in adjusted saic'i body plate, a

position, one of said guides bein ecured to 19% said bracket.

13. In a mortising tool, in combination, a back plate adapted to constitute a guide for a chisel in defining the rear wall of a mortise, a depth plate connected to said back plate and disposed in a plane at right angles to, and below the lower edge of, said back plate, a vertical cutter guide fixedly carried by and disposed at right angles to said back plate, an opposed cutter guide connected to said back plate for sliding movement thereon to and from said fixed cutter guide, cutter holders mounted in said guides, and cutters carried by said holders for forming the end walls of the mortise.

IIARRY T. PARKER. 

